UFC 167's Ed Herman: 'There's no man I can't beat on the right night'

Ed Herman doesn’t know how much longer he’ll be fighting, so he wants to enjoy what time he has left.

“I want to look back and say I had fun, even in the times that I lost,” Herman told MMAjunkie Radio. “I want to look back and say I enjoyed myself there.”

Herman (21-9 MMA, 8-5 UFC), who makes his 15th octagon appearance when he fights short-notice replacement Thales Leites (21-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) at UFC 167, feels blessed to have been able to fight in the UFC for seven years. He thinks the promoters have put him on Saturday’s 20th anniversary card because he consistently delivers excitement.

“There’s been a few times where I lost quick, but most guys who have fought me, you ask them if they’d sign up to fight me again, they’d think twice,” he said. “Because whether they’re better than me or they beat me, it’s going to be a dogfight, and there’s going to be some blood, and there’s going to be some grinding, and it’s going to be nasty.”

Herman vs. Leites serves on the FOX Sports 1-televised preliminary card of Saturday’s event, which takes place at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. Main-card fights air live on pay-per-view.

Herman’s performances haven’t come without a cost, of course. He’s broken his orbital bone, his nose, hand, and torn his ACL while fighting inside the octagon. In his most recent fight, he traded knockout blows with Trevor Smith and nearly lost before eking out a split decision. At 33 years old, however, he’s approaching the point where his body will begin to cooperate less and less in the gym and in competition.

“The funny thing is, I’m better looking than I ever was when I was younger,” Herman joked.

Despite the ongoing threat of injuries, Herman said he’s prepared to deliver “a dirty dogfight” with onetime title challenger Leites, who replaced fellow Brazilian Rafael Natal. Leites is known for wearing out opponents against the cage and on the mat, but Herman said he won’t let himself be stifled.

“I’m not going to let him Jake Shields me,” he said. “The mistake I made in the past, which I made with Shields, was, ‘What’s Jake going to do?’ For this fight, I’m worried about what I’m going to do, what Ed Herman’s going to do. That benefits me so much more.”

Although he’s faced mostly unranked talent in his recent fights, Herman believes he has one title run left in him. But this time, he wants to smile a little more on the way.

In previous bouts, he could barely manage a grin in the days and hours before a fight. He would arrive to the arena and pace, worried that he hadn’t done enough to prepare.

“There are times when you’re so nervous, like, ‘This is horrible, so why do I do this to myself?'” he said. “It’s easier to have a regular job and sit on the couch and drink beer.”

Now, he approaches things with a little more levity. He realizes there’s no use in getting himself wound up with worries of what might or might not happen while he’s competing and what comes afterward.

“It’s so easy to put yourself [in the mind frame of], ‘I’m worried about this, I’m worried about that, the money,'” he said. “I get to do what I love. I make some good money. It’s just an awesome thing. I think that came with my time here and being mentally prepared.”

Herman is 4-1 in his past six fights, with a loss to Shields overturned due to his opponent’s failed drug test. While Leites isn’t the type of fighter who could bring him a title shot, it might be a good start for “Short Fuse.” And that’s a reason to look on the bright side.

“I’m not done yet,” Herman said. “I’m ready to make a run still. I’m an old vet, and I’ve been out for a while, but I feel like I could beat anybody on the right night. There’s no man I can’t beat on the right night.”